1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to drag bits having diamond or other hard cutter inserts. More particularly, the present invention is directed to blade-type drag bits incorporating diamond cutter inserts wherein, even though the blades erode during drilling in a formation, the diamond inserts nevertheless remain effective for attacking the formation.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Drilling bits or rock bits are well known in the art. Such drilling bits are used for drilling in subterranean formations when prospecting for oil or minerals. The term "drag bit", generally speaking, designates a drilling bit which has no rotating cones and which is rotated either from surface through a string of drill pipes and drill collars (drill string) or by a suitable "downhole" motor. In contrast, rotary cone or "roller" bits have several journals each of which carries a freely rotatable drill bit cone. Regardless whether rotary cone or drag bits are used for drilling in a formation, drilling fluid or "drilling mud" is continuously circulated from the surface through the drill string down to the drilling bit, and up to the surface again. As is well known, the circulating drilling mud serves several important functions; these include continuous cooling of the drill bit and removal of the cuttings which are generated by the drilling action.
Several types of drag bits are known in the art; these include fishtail bits, auger bits, as well as more "conventional" drag bits which lack relatively large extending blades but nevertheless may be provided with "hard" diamond, tungsten-carbide, or the like cutter inserts. Blade-type rotary drag bits are also known in the art which have diamond or other "hard" cutter inserts imbedded or affixed to the blades. Such blade-type bits are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,440,247 and 4,499,958.
Generally speaking, one serious problem encountered in the prior art in connection with diamond or like "hard" insert studded drag bits is overheating of the diamond inserts due to inadequate flushing and cooling action of the drilling fluid. As is known, heat, unless dissipated through adequate cooling with drilling fluid, may convert the diamond of the inserts into graphite with a resulting loss of hardness and drilling power. Another serious problem encountered in connection with diamond studded drag bits involves loss of the diamond cutters from the bit. Yet another problem, which is especially serious in the field of blade-type bits is the relatively rapid wear or erosion of the blades of the bit. The erosion, of course, can also rapidly lead to loss of diamonds or like hard inserts from the blades.
Generally speaking, the prior art has attempted to solve the foregoing problems by providing drilling fluid outlet passages or holes adjacent to the diamond or like inserts in the drag bits, and by appropriately choosing the configuration of the drag bit body so as to optimize the flushing and cooling action of the drilling fluid on the cutter inserts. The drill bits described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,334,585, 4,325,439, 4,303,136, 4,253,533 4,246,977, 4,234,048, 4,221,270, 4,505,342, and 4,533,004 provide examples of these efforts in the prior art.
Still further descriptions of drilling bits, which comprise a general background to the present invention, may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,539,018, 4,538,691, 4,538,690, 3,768,581, 3,938,599, 4,265,324, 4,350,215, 4,475,606, and 4,494,618. A general overview of "Rock-Bit Design, Selection, and Evaluation" may be found in a paper bearing the above title. This paper is a revised reprint of a presentation made by H. G. Bentson at the spring meeting of the Pacific Coast District, API Division of Production, Los Angeles, May, 1956, printed in August, 1966.
In summary, the foregoing patent disclosures provide evidence of intense efforts in the prior art to develop rock bits in general, and diamond or like "hard" cutter insert studded drag bits in particular, which have prolonged working lives and improved wear characteristics. In spite of the foregoing efforts, there is definitely still need and room for improvement in this field. Specifically, there is need in the art for blade-type drag bits having diamond or like "hard" inserts, which are retained for operation in the blade even as a major portion of the blade is eroded or worn away during drilling. The present invention provides such blade-type drag bits.